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Theatre

I love movies!

As a result, I see quite a few of them. Forget traditional ratings — though I usually see grown-up movies, I'll let you know when it's okay to take the kids (and what might change your mind about it). As you might expect, I'll also tell you about any political implications whether subtle or otherwise in a given film. You'll get new theatrical release reviews as well as video reviews here, and in a variety of categories.

Although I started writing movie reviews in large part because I've found too many "real" critics tend to dislike the movies that are the most unadulterated entertainment (in fact, my reviews consider the "fun factor" along witih acting caliber or plot complexities and the like), there's another reason movies have become even more important: propaganda, and the political activism of certain stars. I'll do my best to take note of those things for you as well.


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Theatrical Releases

The Descendants 3 stars rating

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The Descendants 3 stars rating

Rated R
Runtime: 115 minutes

The DescendantsI finally got the chance to see The Descendants this weekend. It's a movie I've been wanting to see for awhile now, all the more so since the Oscar™ nominations were announced. The Descendants is nominated in five categories, including Best Director (Alexander Payne); Best Picture; Best Actor (George Clooney); and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash). That I'm also a big fan of Payne's last effort (the superlative Sideways) didn't hurt, either.

The Descendants focuses on a family that happen to be direct descendants of the last Queen of Hawaii. As a result of the Queen's legacy, they happen to own a huge parcel of unspoiled land. Lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) is the man in charge of the trust that holds the real estate, and his job as trustee is heating up as the family mulls selling the acreage to competing developers.

At the same time, King is dealing with a devastating upheaval in his personal life. His wife Elizabeth, who was seriously injured in a boating accident, is hospitalized in a coma from which she might never recover. King, who calls himself the "backup parent," has no concrete ideas for dealing with the circumstances that include a rebellious daughter, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), and a precocious daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller). He just tries his best to get through each day as it unfolds. And then another bombshell drops on King's head: He learns that, prior to her accident, his wife was having an affair.

While King deals with numerous cousins in connection with the land trust, he's also trying to prepare his daughters for the worst. But after discovering his wife's infidelity, King gives himself yet another job: Tracking down the man his wife may have loved.

George Clooney probably gives the best performance of his career here. While his delivery is still often droll, his facial expressions and the depth of feeling in his eyes alone raises the level of his acting substantially. Shailene Woodley has also been nominated for a number of awards for her role as Alexandra. She's good, but in one particular scene, I'd have to call her nothing less than brilliant (if you haven't seen the film, I'm spoiling nothing by telling you to watch for Woodley in the swimming pool for a "how to" lesson in onscreen drama). Amara Miller is fine as the 10 year-old Scottie, and Nick Krause (as Alexandra's slacker friend, Sid) is a capable foil.

Robert Forster (who plays Scott Thorson, Elizabeth's father) is convincing as an angry yet broken-hearted man, and Barbara L. Southern (Elizabeth's onscreen mother) is perfect as a sweetly confused woman with a tenuous grasp on reality. Meanwhile, I honestly didn't buy Matthew Lillard's performance as "the other man," Brian Speer, but Judy Greer's characterization of Brian's wife was just terrific.

I don't think Alexander Payne has disgraced himself in any way with his direction of The Descendants. In fact, I loved that so much of the Hawaiian scenery was so ordinary. While we're used to seeing spectacular landscapes or ocean waves from the islands, one of the points the story tried to make was that even those who live in "paradise" aren't really any different from the rest of us when it comes to their troubles. I'm a lot less fond of the screenplay. Oh, it's not bad. It's just that, when you've got Sideways on your résumé, you've set a standard. And though I wish it were otherwise, The Descendants doesn't live up to that standard.

BOTTOM LINE The Descendants is a good movie with a good story and some excellent performances. Aside from the inevitable comparisons to Sideways, though, it's still not (in my opinion) an Oscar™-caliber film. When I consider some of the actors not nominated this year (the amazing Christoph Waltz in Carnage, for example, or Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar); and when I think about some of the films that are missing from the Academy's list of "the best" (Carnage again, as well as The Ides of March — ironically, another Clooney vehicle — and the underrated Super 8); some of the screen plays not honored (have I mentioned Carnage? — without exaggeration, I think this may quite literally be one of the best scripts of just about any year); I find myself wondering yet again just how much of the Academy's selections involve merit, and how much is some mixture of politics and reward and, conversely, punishment.

POLITICAL NOTES The debate over the land sale in the film is relevant, and on several different levels. While different factions have different biases, they're all exposed and each is more than worthy of discussion.

FAMILY SUITABILITY The Descendants is rated R for "language including some sexual references." There are more than a few moments in the film that you're not going to want your younger children to see! But if you've got older teens, there are some lessons that can be learned here particularly if you see the movie together. And despite the language and yes, some sexual references, I didn't see anything that should prove offensive to any but the most sensitive.